Mindless drug propaganda

Brett Chidester's death is a sad event in a world full of such events: I'm not convinced that the blame can be directed toward smoking of an herb.

Delawareonline ¦ The News Journal ¦ Legal high new worry for parents
In the daily search for reasons behind their 17-year-old son's suicide, Dennis and Kathy Chidester keep coming back to the same answer: salvia divinorum.The herb, a cousin of the flowering sages enjoyed by backyard gardeners, contains the world's most potent natural hallucinogen, as strong as LSD. The drug is legal in most states, including Delaware, and easily available through hundreds of Internet sites, including eBay.That aura of legitimacy lulled Brett Chidester, a straight-A senior at Salesianum School, into thinking smoking salvia leaves was safe, even while convincing himself that he had gained incredible insights into the universe, his parents said.
...
That's the one thing I didn't want to do,“ he said, his voice cracking. ”I found him in there, dead. He had taken a charcoal grill and ... carbon monoxide poisoning.“

Brett's essay, suicide note and actions before his death still leave his parents with more questions than answers.

”We just won't have any answers, and we have to learn to accept that,“ Kathy Chidester said. ”But my gut feeling is it was the salvia. It's the only thing that can explain it.“

Right, nothing to do with the emptiness of modern existence, nothing to do with pressures of school, family, becoming an adult, girlfriends, no - just smoking an herb whose effects last 15-30 minutes.

As an amateur historian with a keen interest in the cultural response to drugs in American society, I've seen this pattern before. First, a drug (marijuana, alcohol, LSD, MDMA, etc.) is demonized as causing violent anti-social behavior, mostly by the use of thinly-sourced sensationalistic news articles like the one cited above, which ran in the Deleware News Journal. Then pressure 'builds' on legislatures to 'do something', never mind the facts, never mind most adults were partaking with few adverse effects. Alcohol was already such an ingrained part of American society - Prohibition didn't last very long. Marijuana - not so lucky.

”You type 'salvia divinorum' in a search engine and you get 10,000 hits, most of which are head shops on the Internet,“ said Thomas E. Prisinzano, a medical researcher at the University of Iowa. ”That's not good. People are going to abuse it.“

-of course one could do the same for automobiles (over 60 million hits), or coffee grinders (over 2 million hits). Is that ”not good“? What's the point of search engines anyway?

A cashier at a local pipe store says,

”...As far as I know, the only place you can get it is the Internet. Probably the reason it's legal now is most people don't know about it.“

.

As the drug becomes stigmatized in the press and in Congress, legitimate research is discarded. LSD, for instance, had promising applications in the study of mental health (Cary Grant, for instance, used it frequently in psychotherapy, and found it quite therapeutic), alcoholism, and elsewhere, good luck even filling out a grant to study LSD these days - you'd become a target of the DEA just by signing your name on the application.

Prisinzano, who earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Delaware in 1995, is studying whether salvia's main ingredient, salvinorin A, could be used to create a nonaddictive painkiller. Also, he said, understanding the way salvia creates hallucinations could help scientists better understand Alzheimer's disease and mental illnesses that alter patients' perceptions of reality.

”It's actually become a hot area of research,“ said Bryan Roth, a leading salvia researcher at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. In 2002, he discovered how salvinorin A travels through the brain.

One salvia user described watching a mountain lake turn into a desert, Roth said. Another said she found herself in a room with an alternate future behind each door. She picked one door and saw the death of her child, he said.

”Depending on the dose, it can cause a mild sense of distortion,“ Roth said. ”In the extreme, people are basically shot out into another reality, another place and time.“

Smoke Salvia while you can - won't be long before smokers will be declared enemy combatants of the state.

38 Comments

I think that you are a dumbass who is trying to read more into a situation you know ABSOLUTELY nothing about. Brett was my cousin and my best friend. He told me everything and for once in his life he was truly, truly happy. He had a girlfriend who loved him very much and a very supportive group of friends. He had just won a homecoming competition, and he was completely turning his life around. While it is true that he used to not be as happy as he was before he died, he completely changed his life around. He told me how he was so glad that he was finally happy. He admitted to me that the only problem was he couldnt seem to stop taking the salvia. He documented his use with the salvia through a video which I saw and he would continually gush about how he went through time and space and learned all he needed to learn from life's mysteries. He gushed about how heaven held a greater opportunity for him than Earth BECAUSE OF THE DRUG. He was completely out of character while he was on the drug and I can say as a primary source that this is what caused his death. So, for you to go on and encourage people to smoke it "while they still can," is absolutely disgusting. If you want to continue using the drug, then all I can wish you is luck...because the truth is my cousin should not have died and Salvia IS TO BLAME.

Just because a teen desides to climb a mountain without the right gear and dies does not mean you can blame the mountain.

There is more to this story then the media is sending out. Obviously there was a gross neglect in parenting somewhere along the way. A devorced couple means that a horrible choice was made by one of the parents. Lies were upheld until they broke out into the household causing all sorts of heavy emotions between all parties.

I've known more people who have commited suicide because they got put on Prozac then any other drug on the market.

I could care less about Salvia, it is nothing like lsd, it is nothing like alcohol, it is a plant that can't reproduce itself now without human intervention and cloning. It's a religious tool to some like Cannabis.

This isn't about the death of a teen it is about some guy who needs votes and a media outlet who sells by tragedy.

If these parents are so lost and foolish to let this go on in their son's name then they were so delusional about what was going on in the home.

Want to go after anything go after the over the counter drug makers for paying off everyone in Washington with millions of dollars to keep Psedoephedrine on the market so they could make billions off Meth production that has utterly ruined america and killed so many people from my class of 92 High School that it was the only topic at the 02 reunion.

Can we make Alcohol illegal as well? More parents blame alcohol for their kids death then this poor guy.

When does personal responsibility come into play here?

I don't have the full story and I so sorry some guy killed himself but the media blitz on this makes Brett Chidester look like some Heroin crack head and that makes him worthless to everyone. His parents made him a drug addicted statistic when he probably needed love and support. This says so much about how out of touch Kathy and Dnnis were with thier own son they have turned his cry for help into some drug addiction and hate for a plant that cannot kill by overdose like Alcohol does.

"Kathy and Dennis Chidester, urged senators to outlaw salvia because of the powerful effect it had on their son" Keep blaming the mountain instead of facing the fact that you put up walls between you and your son to the point of grasping at anything for closure.

You shame your son by letting this go on. All over the world adults are talking on forums about this and it isn't about the loss of your son it is about how you turned your sons tragedy into "Brett the drug addicted kid" when in fact he made a choice based on something that has nothing to do with Salvia.

Make no mistake about this you are shaming your son by just whistling past the graveyard and blaming a non-addictive, non-toxic plant for YOUR lack of opening up to him and listening to his problems.

I wouldn't go quite that far, Jon B. Suicide is painful for survivors, and I don't blame them for lashing out at convenient targets. That said, still don't buy the argument that Salvia caused his death.

It's fine. You can all think what you want. If you're that retarded to go ahead and try to defend the drug then you deserve whatever the hell happens to you. Jon B, I'm sorry to say that you are a fool, and if anyone listens to you then they are a fool as well. You can call me an idiot all you want but when push comes to shove...it won't bring my cousin or my best friend back. When it's your ugly face all over the headlines it can be your family who are heartbroken and left to try and pick up the pieces. But, by my family and I promoting awareness on this issue and dipshits like you trying to stop us. Ha, good luck...guess what? It's already illegal in 3 states, so you're losing a hopless battle. Also, you know nothing about my family, so for you to presume that they were negligent speaks much more about you as a person then it does them. I'm sorry that people like you exist in this world and I hope that the rest of you never have to deal with this first hand.

You are obviously a very angry man with issues of your own. Perhaps seeing so many of your class makes die at the hands of drugs (over the counter or otherwise), makes you feel as if you have the right to quite frankly insult the Chidester family. Knowing the family history or Brett Chidester and the events leading to his death, I can honestly say that your seudo psychological analysis of his state of mind and home life are complete fiction.

The fact is that Brett was a happy guy. You know NOTHING of his life apart from the way it ended. How you can be so calous and insulting to the family is beyond me. Obviously common curtousy is beyond you. If you had even a scrap of decency or class for that matter you would refrain from your uninformed and ridiculous messages.

Salvia is a depressant. FACT. No one is here denying that alcohol can do the same, but why have another substance more potent than alcohol around for kids to use? Salvia directly contributed to Bretts death and as such his parents are entitled to persue any course of action they wish! If you dont use it... why do you care!? If you dont like the party that the Chidesters are involved with in an effort to have it banned... VOTE FOR THE OTHER GUY! No one has asked for your horrible comments. You have to be part of the bottom scaping scum of human existance to write some of these comments. You disgust me.

I dont expect many of you to take this onboard, your ignorance is enough to satisfy me. Stupid people saying very stupid things. You should be ashamed... should be, but wont... compassion is lost on you.

Salvia is not a depressant. Sorry. Perhaps a bio-chemistry class is in your future?

And I don't understand the impulse of banning something because one person got hurt. How many people do cars kill every day? How many people die of lung cancer? The world is a dangerous place, but adults should have freedom to make their own good or bad decisions without Mommy Government stepping in with crack-pot ideas of what is beneficial or detrimental to society.

I really don't understand the concept of banning plants because somebody died, and the plant may have had some influence (or not). From where I sit, I still have not seen any proof that Salvia even caused this death. I've tried Salvia several times, and I cannot say suicidal impulses came bubbling to the surface.

Granted, Mr. Chidester's family is emotional about the topic, and saying things not based on fact, this still doesn't explain why salvia should be a concern of the DEA.

You go Danielle!! Brett would be so proud of you for taking on all these idiots. You and I know the real truth. Brett was NOT depressed, and if anyone would know what he was feeling it would be you. He loved you and B. so much. The sad part is he obviously, for whatever crazy reason, loved Salvia too and it was his demise.

why is everyone an idiot for insisting you use science in your arguments instead of emotion? If everyone who smoked salvia had subequent depression, that might mean something, but obviously that isn't true. People using Prozak are at more of a risk.

im not going to go too deep into this, because im not trying to start any arguements or say that salvia was/wasn't the cause for brett's death, but I'm a user of salvia divinorum as well and after reading what everyone has had to say about this topic i wanted to give my opinion. i think that salvia should remain legal. i dont like the way that most people advertize the herb, but i do believe that it is an extremely important tool for a lot of people, including myself. i do think that people should have a good reason for using the herb, but i also think that the choice to use it should be left up to the individual. and when someone like me chooses to use this herb, i make sure to have a sitter, to have a reason for using it other than to just trip out, and ive always had amazing experiences with it. before i used the herb i was a completely broken person. thats why i began using it. ive tried so many things to help my character and well being, but after using salvia for my first time, i was able to take away all of life's fears, come into understanding with who i was and what i needed to do in life, etc. after my experience with the herb, my life completely changed in a very positive way. i used to have problems with having a conversation with anyone that lasted for more than a few seconds, and this wasn't because i'm dumb or anything, it was because i was always in a deep state of paranoia, but now all sense of nervousness, fear, pain, etc. are only apparent when they should be. looking back, i feel as though i wasn't given birth until my first use with salvia. living in a constant state of paranoia is one of the worst ways you can live.

Salvia saved my life.
I am deeply sorry for Brett, and wish his family no disgrace.
But without Salvia I'd be an opiate addicted, still begging for my next pill.
Salvia was the only thing that showed me there is divinity in life, outside opium.
Salvia soothed my withdrawls.
Salvia brought me back to God.

I am deeply sorry, and I hope Brett rests in peace, but I will do everything in my power to keep this drug legal.

She is stuck in 1, 2 and 3 and has never dealt with the real reason her son took his life. Salvia is an anti-depressant it did not contribute to her son's death.
I worked with at risk students for over 10 years and Brett clearly had issues. He was from a broken home, did alcohol (which is a depressant), he was taking minocycline for acne which can have side effects that may impair thinking or reactions, he suffered from depression and of course he was dealing with issues teens deal with everyday. Salvia in no way contributed to this young man's death.

In fact, three months after Chidester's suicide, with no evidence of any trace of salvinorin being found in his system, Delaware’s deputy chief medical examiner, Dr. Adrienne Sekula-Perlman, altered his death certificate to include Salvia divinorum use as a contributing cause of his death. She has subsequently refused to comment on her decision. This medical examiner lack of ethics in this case, along with Kathy Chidester reckless accusations against salvia, will cost the medical industry and countless patients the benefits salvia promises in treating psychological disorders such a Alzheimer's disease, severe depression, bipolar disorders, and today uses to relieve rheumatism and joint pain, to aid others overcome additions, and to ease depression related to PMS and new cutting edge research of biosynthesis and medical applications of rosmarinic acid has been held promising.

All this is at risk, because they could not accept the truth of Brett's death. Salvia is also considered sacred to many cultures, social groups, shaman's and non mainstream alternative religious groups. Kathy Chidester is not along in burden to blame of the loss of Salvia not to mention civil liberties for those of us over 18, legislators and reporters are also to blame for feeding into this woman's rage and denial by making it a juicy news story and a jumping off point for re-election campaigns without any scientific proof other using grieving parents as their icon of shame.

Well, shame, shame on all of you. Outlawing salvia will only make legal sells of it go away and criminals of regular citizens (just look at how successful policing marijuana has been--oh by the way, medical research has now proven that marijuana slows the growth of cancerous tumor and can even completely stops the growth). Had that research been allowed to happen in the US, more women would be alive today.

Lastly, Tax moneys and revenue generated from the legal sell of this product will be lost, communities will loose the tax benefits (and we are talking $100,000's of dollars a year per state), stores will be forced to close their doors or lay off employees, and then their is the added cost of policing Salvia (sage). This herb does not even stand up to the ATF own definition of a drug, Under the Federal Analogue Act, salvia fails to meet the "chemically similar" criteria and thus is not subject to the analogue act provisions.

Salvia has never caused anyone harm and does not have 1/10 the negative side affects of cigarettes, tobacco, alcohol or many, many prescription drugs (we know why no one bans them, money and lobbyist). Thousands upon thousands die from addictions of tobacco and alcohol every year, including cancer from 2nd hand cigarettes, and I am not even going to get into the child abuse factor of alcoholics--yet not one tries to band these because it is big business.

I am requesting all those who support salvia, help keep salvia legal in my state, help me keep my business and my employees employed, help medical research and all those who would benefit from salvia, support alternative spirituality. Simply go to: http://www.thecountrygoddess.com, the search for salvia, You will find under the product info, info to email and fax the governor of Illinois to line item veto the part of the bill that would make Salvia illegal. Hopefully he will listen and be a guiding light to other states. Thank you.

Wasn't the suicide his responsibility? You can't blame a plant for a suicide. What if someone had a sudden realizition while meditating and realized that they were insignificant in this life? Should the state ban meditation? I laughed when I saw someone say "Salvia Divinorum is a depressant.. FACT!" That's hilarious. How exactly is a kappa opioid receptor agonist a depressant? There have been studies that show Salvia Divinorum to act as an antidepressant. But if you're a scientist, I guess you know more than I.

What people don't think about is the people who are intelligent to use drugs like Salvia Divinorum responsibly. By making them criminals and putting the drug on the street, they are now giving money to drug dealers instead of tax money to the state and buying a product they know nothing about. Think of the hundreds of lives you are putting in jeopardy by lobbying for control. Does the government have the right to tell you not to take risks? Should the government stop you from skydiving because there were a few deaths? In the land of the free, why do you we have no choices? Look at all the technology and education we have, yet we don't have the maturity or wisdom to even make inteligent choices about what we put into our bodies. It seems the Mexicans had it right hundreds of years before us.

You are denying people the right to practise their religious beliefs and to reap the benefits of this drug. I can't believe that this person was made out to be such a saint when he was experimenting with drugs and took his own life.

Wasn't the suicide his responsibility? You can't blame a plant for a suicide. What if someone had a sudden realizition while meditating and realized that they were insignificant in this life? Should the state ban meditation? I laughed when I saw someone say "Salvia Divinorum is a depressant.. FACT!" That's hilarious. How exactly is a kappa opioid receptor agonist a depressant? There have been studies that show Salvia Divinorum to act as an antidepressant. But if you're a scientist, I guess you know more than I.
What people don't think about is the people who are intelligent to use drugs like Salvia Divinorum responsibly. By making them criminals and putting the drug on the street, they are now giving money to drug dealers instead of tax money to the state and buying a product they know nothing about. Think of the hundreds of lives you are putting in jeopardy by lobbying for control. Does the government have the right to tell you not to take risks? Should the government stop you from skydiving because there were a few deaths? In the land of the free, why do you we have no choices? Look at all the technology and education we have, yet we don't have the maturity or wisdom to even make inteligent choices about what we put into our bodies. It seems the Mexicans had it right hundreds of years before us.
You are denying people the right to practise their religious beliefs and to reap the benefits of this drug. I can't believe that this person was made out to be such a saint when he was experimenting with drugs and took his own life.

The family is struggling for answers and needs a boogeyman to lash out at. That's a shame. Look at this:

"But, by my family and I promoting awareness on this issue and dipshits like you trying to stop us. Ha, good luck...guess what? It's already illegal in 3 states, so you're losing a hopless battle."

That's just anger and vindictiveness seething out. She's treating this like it's some epic struggle against good and evil. What good will it do to hamper others from trying something that they wish to try? What good will it do to put people in prison for trying salvia?

Do any of the family members see the hypocrisy here? Would any of them have been ok with Brett being handed a lengthy prison sentence for using salvia? None of this is going to bring him back. You aren't winning anything. This isn't solving anything.

It's highly unlikely that salvia had anything to do with this kid's death. Salvia lasts 15-20 minutes and the way he killed himself was slow and methodical. He had to know what he was doing. He didn’t have salvia in his system when he died, and I remember news reports stating that Brett had stopped using it months before his death. But even if Brett Chidester is the world's first "salvia suicide"...what does that have to do with me?

Why should I be disallowed from using something that I enjoy because simply this boy chose to kill himself? I take responsibility for my own life. I don't need anyone to try and "protect me".

With all due respect, what makes your cousin so special, that because he did something stupid, it should effect all of our choices? I know you're hurting, but what right do you have to tell me what I can or cannot do? Countless numbers of people have had positive experiences with salvia. I've used salvia before and I've never thought of killing myself.

If you want to educate people about salvia, that's great. I would support your efforts. But it's wrong for your family to work tirelessly to have more people thrown in jail for choosing to do something other than alcohol. Illegalizing drugs doesn’t stop drug use. Marijuana is 100% illegal, but plenty of people use it. So why do you think putting salvia on the federal “no-no list” will change anything except the incarceration rate in this country (currently the highest on Earth).

Speaking of alcohol, it's no secret that your cousin loved to drink. He was 18 when he died. The legal drinking age is 21. That means that he was an underage drinker and was breaking the law. Where is your outrage about that? Why aren't you upset that Brett was using so much of a dangerous substance that *has* been positively linked to suicide? Why aren't you upset at the places where he acquired the alcohol?

Alcohol is illegal for people under 21. But Brett had no problem getting his hands on it, did he? Three days after he died, some friend of his named Mike shared “fond memories” of Brett on MySpace; mentioning how Brett stole alcohol from his job on a regular basis. He also talked about Brett driving drunk and puking out of the window after they had gotten hammered on Absinthe. Those laws really are effective aren’t they?

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among white males age 15-24. That risk is doubled with people who drink. It's further increased among people who have divorced parents, and even more so among "overachievers". Brett fit all those criteria, but you're 100% sure it was the salvia that made him kill himself.

I’m sorry for your loss, but stop trying to push your will on the entire country. We didn’t kill your cousin.

First of all sorry about your loss. Secondly you say that he became a different person while he was on the drug. That kind of sounds like why people take any drug in the first place, because they are insecure about who they are so they use the drug to change themselves. Thirdly i read the your cousin suffered from mild depression, but you commented on how things in his life where getting better. If you read about depression instead of just saliva, you will realize that its a large contributor to suicides around the world. And people who suffer from depression often commit suicide when things start to get better, because at that time, when they are out of the cloudy state of depression, they begin to realize all the stuff they have missed out on while they were in there depression which in turn causes a severe relapse, sometimes resulting in a suicide.

Once again sorry for your loss, he sounded like a good kid, and i dont blame you for fixating your blame of his death on a simple target like salvia

If Brett Chidester had problems with depression in the past, how do you know that reflecting on what he saw on salvia didn't simply re-trigger his depression? That's different than salvia "making him kill himself".

I think that salvia makes you see what's already in your brain. Just like in a dream. I used to be afraid of dying. My first salvia trip was a vision where spirits told me not to be so afraid of death and simply enjoy life.

So...if Chidester was previously depressed, I bet the idea that "life is pointless" and "human life is meaningless" was already in his head. After having that brought back up as some "divine vision", he probably took it a bit too seriously, and ended up practicing his BBQ skills in the garage.

If he was no stranger to depression in the past, why is that such an unlikely conclusion? It certainly makes more sense than the idea that he killed himself while in some "salvia daze" and that he didn't know what he was doing. He had a bad trip, took his own head garbage as the Word of God, and snuffed himself out. The End.

The lesson to be learned is not "salvia will kill all of our children and it needs to be banned".

The lesson is "teenagers with a history of depression shouldn't do hallucinogens".

PS: When you say he "turned his life around" does that mean that he got some therapy...or that he got some steady poontang and made some friends. Because unless he settled the root of what was eating him in the first place, that's just a bandaid sometimes.

Isn't banned Salvia Divinorum just as silly as banning jocks or preps from going to school after something like Columbine happened? It's funny that they say Salvia is to blame? It's "HE" to blame since he chose to kill himself? Salvia didn't pull the trigger, he did.

If you read the facts of the Brett Chidester case you will find that he was never treated for depression because he didn't have it. His big time salvia use took him down in 6 mos.! News reports say he was a straight A honor student, had a good job helping the elderly and where he was drug tested 3 times in a not too big space of time, just won a National Spanish contest and was #1 in DE, had a girlfriend that he was planning on marrying after college, was applying to architectural schools, had tons of friends. You can't physically or mentally do all that and have depression severe enough for you to take your life. It's just not possible.

this kid smokes saliva, than kills him self four or so months later
and we blame a herb that the goverment itself sees nothing wrong with?
if the kid killed himself than there was something wrong with him, it wasn't the drug. haha sorry to laugh but if it was the drug the gap between using the plant and his death wouldn't be 4months.

2nd saliva is a non-addictive plant, thants one reason the goverment wont ban it. 2nd reason if it's non-addictive how did the kid not stop using it? ever heard of an addictive personallity? something who has a family history of abuse or addictive tend to abuse, addictivily, non addictive subsentences

4 months??? Where are you getting your facts from "mark"? Brett used Salvia THE NIGHT he committed suicide. Seriously, if you are going to try and make a worthless argument atleast KNOW what the hell you are talking about. Otherwise, shut your mouth because you are arguing out of your ass. Second, "sorry to laugh?" I'm glad you find this situation and my family's loss funny. Go to hell.

Honestly, it's not even worth arguing with all of the pro-salvia people on here. They are clearly just pissed off that what they so pathetically are wasting their lives' on is under threat. Tough shit. Science, fact, and BRETT'S AUTOPSY prove that Salvia played a role in my cousin's death as it was still in his system when he died (for those who said the effects would have worn off by then- WRONG!), and whether or not those on here choose to believe it; it did. If you choose not to believe it, then keep using Salvia. Take the risk. I'm not saying it's going to start killing people every time they use it, but Brett's death has proven that you do run a risk. If you want to take it, that's on you. I just hope you don't put your families through what ours has gone through(and will always go through).

Finally, there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of Brett or ask myself what if things had been different? What if I had done more to make sure he had stopped using Salvia? I got the call of Brett's death my first night away at college. I was out with friends, excited to start my life away from home... only to get the call that my best friend was dead. I am now 20 years old (Brett would be 19) and live every day with a little bit of regret. Just think of that before you use Salvia the next time. Don't risk putting your family through this. Please.

lol, how can you waste your life on Salvia? It's been used by shamans for centuries and our ignorant society wants to ban it over one death. We don't care about alcohol and tobacco and prescription drugs killing hundreds of thousands of people every year though. People should have the right to smoke whatever they want in the privacy of their own home. Making part of nature illegal is ridiculous. Prohibition of alcohol didn't work, and it's not working for drugs.

Dear Danielle,
I understand you are very upset and angry at what has happened. However this does not validify your claims about people on here being idiots because they have differing opinions than you, nor does it make salvia divinorum the demon drug that ruined so and so's life. Salvia divinorum caused the death no more than Brett being born caused his death. I know this probably sounds strange, but it's really true. If you want to talk about your emotions, go ahead, but don't mix it up with science... because the reality is that there are cases like Brett's death, and then there are cases like JJ's experience posted above. It's all a matter of how everything is working together. It is true that salvia probably caused some confusion or depression, and in fact contributed to the suicide, but does this really have to do with salvia divinorum being a bad thing? It was a bad thing in Brett's case, but the reality is that other people can use such herbs safely, and illegalizing the herb would not be any more fair than having it legal. By the way, just because someone says something that you don't like, it doesn't mean that they're advocating the use of the drug or that they're simple drug using idiots who just want to say things because they want to be irresponsible. In fact, many people can use drugs responsibly. Who really defines what's responsible anyway? The individual.

Anyway, I'm sorry for your loss, and thank you for being considerate of other humans. It is always good to know the risk that might come with such substances, it is just as important to know as any benefit one might derive from it. Thank you for sharing your experience and your opinion, as it is important to hear about real life stories like Brett's and to see how people like yourself are affected because of situations like this. I know you just want the best for all of us.

And to everyone else, thanks for your posts too, it's well appreciated.

everyone seems to be more in touch with their logic skills than you danielle

you are using what you consider to be fact, but others are using waht has been proved to be fact.

people arent just happy one day, life is perfect, the world is colorful and wonderful, then the next day commit suicide because of a drug

first of all, the decision to use drugs comes with a complete change in perception of life and a feeling of worthlessness and hopelessness... depression, if you will

teens use drugs, and i know this having been down this road myself, because the world seems to beat down on them every day and THEY CANT ESCAPE... this world is becoming more and more evil and screwed up by the day and no one experiences this like todays teenagers. As this becomes more and more apparent to a teen, they realize that nobody can help them, not ever themselves. So, like a comment that has already been made on this forum, they will grasp for anything to escape. It's so simple and obvious that Brett was NOT happy... depression does so many different things to people. he more than likely found something other than this drug (girlfriend, new found success, etc.) and held on to it as long as it would make him happy. but i know myself, if something like this happens, and it either gets old or something screws up and it doesnt seem to have the same positive effect, you can swing right back into depression and in a matter of hours, your whole personality can change completely

his parents obviously didnt want to hear his problems, because someone who's depressed just needs someone to open up to.

all in all, WE NEED TO STOP BLAMING OR SCREWED UP SOCIETY AND OUR SCREWED UP ISSUES ON DRUGS AND REALIZE THAT WE ARE NOT ONLY CONTRADICTING OURSELVES, BUT WE ARE JUST MAKING THINGS WORSE

all that being said, im sorry for your loss, danielle. suicide in my eyes is always tragic

but you are calling every one else idiots and ignorant

but in reality, you are ignorant if you actually belive that a NON ADDICTIVE, NON-TOXIC, ANTI-DEPRESSANT PLANT was at fault for bretts deaths

the cause is much deeper than that.

stop looking for easy solutions to difficult problems and dig beneath the surface

this kid had problems, and to be a teenager these days, thats not uncommon

We need our rights protected from infantile, ignorant people and their hypocritical desire to scapegoat helpful, therapeutitic herbs, that have many centuries of proven positive use. Such people would rather concoct face saving fantasies and attempt to have them ENFORCED on the whole population rather than face some unpalatable facts of their family life. They would rather criminalize and deny the informed CHOICE of millions of intelligent, broadminded, thinking people than accept that a member of their family could have committed suicide - as thousands do - simply because they couldn't face the pressures and pains of life anymore.

It was not the case that Salvia killed Brett. It is unfortunate, however, that his problems with depression were too deep for even Salvia to help him with - as it HAS helped countless others.

This situation is rather like a skilled doctor doing all he can to save the life of a patient with terminal lung cancer, but failing, and the patient's family then calling for the doctor to be "jailed" because "he killed him!" The proof? "Well he operated on him, and he died! So it must be his fault!"

This argument is pointless. The family of this poor kid are in pain and they are blaming his death on salvia because it is an escape from guilt, sadness,...its a coping mechanism. Obviously salvia shouldn't be sold to minors, ive done it multiple times, anyone out reading this who has actually done it knows kids shouldn't be doing it. So make a law prohibiting it for children. I am sorry for the childress family loss, but I will not allow their painful coping to infringe on my right to freedom. Salvia is not dangerous for adults, especially responsible adults. It is not addictive. It is not toxic. Those are facts, anyone not associated with the family and anyone who doesnt have a political agenda knows that. I can't imagine the drug being made illegal with those facts. Its not weed, and anyone who says weed isnt somewhat addictive is lying to themselves. But the best part about salvia is that it isnt even mildly addictive. Its more of an experiential drug you do every once in a while for clarity. Stop argueing, let these poor people whine their sorrow away, there is no way this drug is going to be made illegal, at least not in my state because California believes in freedom.

I hope you are correct - that Salvia won't be banned in your state. I suspect, however, that eventually every state will ban Salvia. The writing is on the wall, from zero states banning salvia when this originally was posted to now 17 states have or are about to ban, including Illinois. California has banned other drugs in the past, especially when there is hysterical information being promulgated in the media.

This is directed to Seth, the person who brought up the whole car accident and lung cancer topic. I have taken a biochemistry class. I have a double bachalor's, 1 in Biochemistry and the other in Microbiology. Trying to make someone feel dumb or ignorant about something they have yet to educate themselves on, only makes you look like a complete ass. I'll be happy to answer any Biochemistry or microbio question you have. Taking 1 class at a community college doesn't make you an expert. Are all of you "Pro Salvia" users’ retards? I know how what it does. The fact of the matter is, is that the vast majority of teens today are not responsible enough to even clean their own room let alone use a Hallucinogenic drug of any kind. I don't care if it's indoors or outside. I have seen teens/adults doing it in the car while driving. Now, can you honestly tell me that's safe? Your reality is altered, it's a f'ing Hallucinogenic. What's even worse, a kid who get's straight "A"'s. You would like to think they knew the definition of that word. It's a car accident waiting to happen. In a perfect world, teens/adults would be responsible and stay home with a "Safe Sitter" but, HELLO, not all do. My son's best friend lay in a coma with his brain swollen 2x's it's size because he was driving in the car to the store with his sister who mind you, had just did Salvia, and hit a tree head on. Guess who didn't have a scratch on them and who's in the coma? She destroyed her own brothers’ life. It's time "Common Sense" makes a come back. That's Dr. Phil for such an accurate statement. Let's defend it now, but when the tables are turned and it's your family, don't even try and lie and say you’re going to still support it. Too many parents try to be their children’s friend; they need to start being parents. Any dumb a** that would compare pot to LSD or salvia is just plain stupid. They are 2 completely different drug classes. Get a new argument. Only dopers or dealers want drugs legal. Your kidding yourself if you think making street drugs legal will change the drug issues in the US, and crime will go down, Legal or not, if the dopers and tweekers don't have the money to buy it, their still going to do whatever they have to do in order to get a fix. We don't know enough about it to say it's not addictive or it won't hurt you. Making drugs legal and not making Salvia illegal is as dumb as the stupid kids choking themselves to pass out. We should be soooo proud of our youth today, better yet, we should be proud of their parents. By the way, that goes for anything that alters or impairs your ability and brain to make logical decisions and react quickly. Making drugs legal is an issue makes my a** tired.

Unfortunately, every so often, some dumbass does something really stupid and the rest of us have to pay the price for his idiocy. This is the case in Brett Chidester's situation. He was known to habitually abuse alcohol (absinthe in particular). Yet we don't see his mom pushing for a ban on alcohol.

Do you really expect us to believe he was a perfect teenager? Especially when we read things like this post to his Myspace memorial page posted only 3 days after he died, "i remember at work he would steal unopened bottles of wine or liquor almost everytime he worked. ill never forget the night he gave me absinthe. and he drove home so fucked up he was puking out his window while he was driving. im really going to miss the crazy stuff he did. RIP Brett". That was courtesy of his buddy Mike. Mike, you're lucky to be alive buddy. Maybe it's a good thing Brett took himself out before he killed anyone else with his reckless and foolish behavior.

I believe it's all about their 15 minutes of fame for the Chidesters now. The "Brett Chidester - Stolen Angel " page made by his mother has been abandoned for almost two years. Too much trouble to keep the tribute going, mom? Maybe it's not as rewarding as being interviewed by the news on TV. But even they have forgotten you now. Go ahead and get it banned you ignorant people. You will not change anything. Salvia is not addictive. And it has mood enhancing effects; the thought that it caused him to be depressed is just laughable. Maybe to find the cause of Brett's depression, you just need to look in the mirror - if you have the guts.

Drugs like salvia all depend on your mental state of mind. If salvia gets ban I am going to become a another suicide stat then because I won't be able to live in this hypocritical world. I swear it is the case of the blind leading the blind. Brett's mom is seriously crazed for trying to push this. This stuff isn't bad I have gone to school to school with people doped up on it and you know what some of them were actually getting A's. I think if the people who want to ban it try it for themselves. I am versed in psychology and I am also versed in the suicide aspect of psychology such as the why and how.

Actually I just think Brett was somebody looking for attention, half of his suicide is his parents fault for letting him experiment with the drugs. YOU CAN'T EVEN ORDER SALVIA OFF THE INTERNET UNLESS YOU'RE OVER THE AGE OF 18. which means he was using his parents credit card to order it, which than he probably payed them back. I wouldn't fucking doubt if his parents tried smoking it too. Salvia doesn't make people want to commit suicide, It's faggot attention whores, who after their actions happen they get over exaggerated by radical political figures who try to win votes and support from their brainwashed audience of delinquent hysteria.

I first want to say, I'm really sorry to hear that Brett committed suicide. I lost a brother, my best friend because he also committed suicide. I, myself suffer deeply because I'm Bi-Polar, clinically depressed, inherited depression, and Obcessive Compulsive Disorder, and many health issues. I have attempted suicide many times and the last time I nearly died. With all this said, I must say the death of your cousin, Brett is the only case I've ever seen, or read that Salvia Divinorum was to be "BLAMED" for his suicide. I can tell you honestly from my heart, that Salvia "WASN'T" the reason for Brett's suicide. Take it from a person whose been there many times in their life that I would "APPEAR" very happy, but was so "DARN" unhappy inside. This is how a person that commits suicide does so know one will know their "TRUE" feelings. He had his plan, and that night was his choice to carry it out.

I first want to say, I'm really sorry to hear that Brett committed suicide. I lost a brother, my best friend because he also committed suicide. I, myself suffer deeply because I'm Bi-Polar, clinically depressed, inherited depression, and Obcessive Compulsive Disorder, and many health issues. I have attempted suicide many times and the last time I nearly died. With all this said, I must say the death of your cousin, Brett is the only case I've ever seen, or read that Salvia Divinorum was to be "BLAMED" for his suicide. I can tell you honestly from my heart, that Salvia "WASN'T" the reason for Brett's suicide. Take it from a person whose been there many times in their life that I would "APPEAR" very happy, but was so "DARN" unhappy inside. This is how a person that commits suicide does so know one will know their "TRUE" feelings. He had his plan, and that night was his choice to carry it out.

Humans are inquisitive and exploring. We like to do dangerous things like climb Everest. Many people die climbing Everest. Climbing Everest is considered a worthy and valiant pursuit - yet it is very dangerous and kills lots of people. Mothers of sons who die on Everest say things like 'my son knew the risks, climbing was his greatest joy'. Paragliding is dangerous. As far as I am aware, climbing Everest is not banned. It seems to me that by comparison Salvia is virtually risk-free. It seems to me that we have double standards and the onus is very much anti anything you can eat, snort, smoke or otherwise ingest based upon bigotry - "O my God it's a drug!". So is alcohol daft ones, and alcohol is far more addictive and dangerous than stuff you ban or seek to ban, yet all over most countries in the World shops sell it and bars pour it for you. GET REAL and go and see people in sanatoriums dying with wet brain from alcohol use. They became drug addicts. That can't happen with Salvia daft ones.

Search

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by swanksalot published on February 26, 2006 8:22 AM.